Page 8 of Stolen By the Vampire

“What’s your favorite part of your town?” he amended.

She seemed inclined to argue again before sighing. “There’s a small hill that crests just over the river. It’s too small for sailing, but still, I like to imagine what stops exist along the river. What I might see if I followed it down, what adventures I might have.” She turned away. “You think it’s silly, I’m sure.”

He frowned. “Not at all. What would make you say that?”

She fidgeted. “Jared—others did. After all, as a mediocre weaver, I’d never have the need to sell at larger markets, and never have the funds to explore in my own right. I need to care for my father, so I could hardly go off to seek my own fortune. My magic isn’t useful for anything more.”

Silas had several questions about that. Why she deemed herself a mediocre weaver, why she put others above herself, what the nature of her magic was, where she might like to go. But one burned above all others.

“Who is Jared?” Who was the male who dared make her seem like her desires were foolish?

She looked back at him, spine straight. “I’m not answering that.”

He could compel her to. He opened his mouth just to do so when she snapped, “If you force your will on me to answer another of your questions, I’ll bite my tongue so hard it bleeds.”

He could use his thrall to prevent her from doing that, but perhaps better not to force the female to give up all her secrets. He’d get them one way or the other, and wouldn’t they be sweeter when she offered?

“Tell me what else you wish to know about Wyrdova, then. Or anywhere else.”

“Anywhere?”

Silas shrugged. “There are few continents I’ve not visited.” It had taken him time to settle down once he’d left Wyrdova. He’d been looking for something, even if he hadn’t known what. Until fate led him to Eurobis.

He’d wondered why. Cursed the loss of his freedom. Yet now, he realized he’d been drawn to these cliffs for a reason.

Because this was where he would one day find Esmae Mellodi.

His fated mate.

Chapter Five

“I wouldn’t even know where else to ask about.”

Compared to the vampire, she was utterly ignorant. She expected him to lord it over her, just as he’d lorded his strength. Jared had never hesitated to remind her how little she knew of the outside world, which had eventually driven her to stop asking questions since she just felt stupid.

But Silas simply stood from the loveseat. He went back into the cavern, disappearing behind a pile of gold. Is he getting more maps?

When he returned, he carried an object unlike anything she’d seen before. It was a sphere, held up on a stand at an angle, so it spun slightly as he carried the base. He moved the map and set it down in front of them, returning to his spot on the loveseat—with his arm over her shoulders this time.

She didn’t even mind, trailing her fingers around the sphere as it spun. The majority of it was smooth blue, with large splotches of it covered in raised greens and tans. Turning it, she found one that matched the shape of Eurobis. On the other side, one that matched Wyrdova.

“It’s a globe,” he explained. “Simply pick a spot on it, and I will describe the land.”

His tone was patient. He didn’t treat her like an idiot for not knowing about something she hadn’t encountered before.

What an un-monstrous thing for a monster to do.

She picked a spot at random, and Silas began to explain the shape of the continent, the climate, the culture. She probed him on further questions, and he answered each one to the best of his ability. Questions relating to the specifics of people, he admitted to having less detail on. Because he’d held himself separate? Even vampires had kingdoms, though Silas didn’t live in any of them. She forced herself to keep asking about different spots on the globe, even as the list of questions she had about the vampire mounted.

When they exhausted one spot, she picked another. Then another.

The strangest thing happened. Esmae knew she was cursed to die, doomed unless she could bleed the monster—the few drops not sufficing, it no doubt meant she needed to kill him, which was seemingly more and more impossible. She knew she’d never get to go to any of these places.

And yet… she was enjoying herself.

She’d been raised that vampires were the natural enemies of witches, but this vampire didn’t seem so bad. The forced captivity was certainly a mark against Silas. However, since one of her own kind had cursed her for breaking up with him, it didn’t exactly feel fair to judge the vampire for that. Especially since she had been the one to seek out the creature of the Condemned Cliffs.

Esmae prided herself on being rational. Could she hold a vampire to a higher standard than she held her fellow witches? Herself?

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